Dead sardines are seen in the harbor area in Redondo Beach, California March 9, 2011

Dead sardines are seen in the harbor area in Redondo Beach, California March 9, 2011. Millions of fish washed up dead early on Tuesday, puzzling authorities and triggering a cleanup effort.

Crews clean up millions of dead sardines in Redondo's King Harbor

Millions of Pacific Sardines Dead in Southern California Marina - MVI_7136.MOV

having affairs with South Korean diplomats in an alleged steamy sex-for-favor scandal t

South Korean newspapers dated on March 9, 2011 carry stories and pictures of a Chinese woman, who was suspected of having affairs with South Korean diplomats in an alleged steamy sex-for-favor scandal that has rocked South Korea's consulate in Shanghai. South Korea's government said it has launched an investigation into an alleged steamy sex-for-favours scandal that has rocked its consulate in Shanghai. Media reports say three Korean diplomats based in China's biggest city were suspected of having affairs with the same Chinese woman, who allegedly used her influence over them in seeking visas for Chinese workers

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea is investigating several diplomats accused of trading government documents for sex with a Chinese woman while posted at the country's consulate in Shanghai, officials said Wednesday.

The Foreign Ministry and the prime minister's office said they are probing at least four officials in the scandal, which was splashed across the front pages of South Korean newspapers Wednesday.

Authorities are investigating whether the documents allegedly given by the officials, including the former consul general, were confidential, an official at the prime minister's office said.

The officials also allegedly used their influence to help Chinese citizens introduced by the woman get South Korean visas in a smoother, speedier manner, the official said on condition of anonymity because the investigation was still under way.

Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan said the probe began after the government received a tip, but he did not elaborate. South Korean media reported that the Chinese woman's South Korean husband, a businessman, alerted government authorities late last year.

Kim said the government also planned to launch an investigation into the entire Shanghai consulate.

"I'm apologizing for causing the people anxieties over an unsavory incident," Kim told lawmakers during a parliamentary committee meeting.

The mass-circulation Dong-a Ilbo newspaper reported that South Korean diplomats gave the woman a list of telephone numbers of top South Korean officials and politicians including President Lee Myung-bak. The official at the prime minister's office said it had not yet determined whether such information had been passed to her.

The scandal is a new headache for Lee's government, whose single five-year term ends in early 2013.

Earlier this week, a parliamentary committee decided to delay debating a free trade agreement between South Korea and the European Union after errors in the accord's Korean-language version were found. And police last month began a probe into a mysterious break-in at the Seoul hotel room of a visiting Indonesian official amid widespread speculation that South Korean spies had unsuccessfully tried to steal documents about a possible arms deal.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41982026/ns/world_news-asiapacific